U.S. Plans New Oil Drilling for California, Florida


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- The Trump administration is planning an expansion of 
U.S. oil drilling involving as many as 34 potential offshore projects that 
would include rigs off the coast of California and Florida, the Department of 
the Interior announced Thursday (11/20).

   Under the expanded Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing plan, 
there would be six Pacific Coast lease sales between 2027 and 2030 involving 
drilling off the coast of California for the first time since the mid-1980s.

   There are a total of 27 OCS areas currently under operation and 21 of them 
would see new drilling, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres, the 
department said.

   Aside from the six Pacific areas, seven areas in the Gulf of America and 
others off Alaska have been targeted for offshore drilling.

   The Eastern Gulf of Mexico, whose coast was off-limits in the past to due to 
environmental efforts aimed at protecting Florida's tourism-based economy, will 
see new lease sales too between 2029 and 2030.

   "Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years 
of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market," Doug 
Burgum, secretary of the Interior, said in remarks accompanying the 
announcement.

   California Governor Gavin Newsom, however, objected to the Pacific expansion 
of the OCS, saying it would be "dead on arrival" in the state, where opposition 
to offshore oil projects was clear. The federal plan does not require direct 
approval from California lawmakers, but the state has powerful regulatory tools 
to block it.

   "As it relates to offshore oil drilling, it's overwhelmingly opposed by 
members of all political parties in the state of California," Newsom told a 
news conference on the sidelines of a climate conference in Brazil.

   Florida's lawmakers had also pushed back strongly against drilling off the 
state's coast during the first Trump administration between 2016 and 2020.




(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.